Perfectly into place
by Golden-Ray
Summary: Four-shot. Bad summary: Her father's home contains a lot of memories they'd rather forget about. They might end up making new, better ones, though. Franziska/Miles
1. Chapter 1: Thoughts and a cup of tea

**About the story: Miles/Franziska is one of my favorite if not my favorite Ace Attorney pairing and I felt like writing a story about them. The story ended up being much longer than I expected it to and it's quite fluffy which also came as a great surprise because fluff is not my thing. I don't hate it or something; the exact opposite. It's actually quite nice to read a cute, heart-warming story every now and then. It's just that, I don't normally write fluffy things. But I guess this pairing is lacking when it comes to fluffy stories (and fanfiction in general but I won't get started on that) so I sort of felt like filling the gap.**

**Next, I'd like to note how difficult it is to write these two characters and keep them in character. I tried my best not to make them OOC but whether I succeeded or not is for you to decide. Still, their complexity gave me a somewhat hard time but I also rather enjoyed my attempt to capture their personalities as accurately as possible.**

**This story will be a four-shot. I intended it to be a two-shot but then I realized it turned out long enough to be split into four chapters and they still are pretty long themselves. Hope they're not so long it gets tiring. ^_^"**

**Lastly, the events of this fanfic were supposed to take place after T&T but, since Investigations came out, I decided to place it right after the game. But, really, the timeline doesn't matter that much.**

**About the chapter: I wasn't sure whether I should include this chapter or not. Nothing really happens here. It just analyses what Franziska and Miles are thinking and feeling or at least my personal take on that. In case you find this chapter boring or something, I kindly request you wait until I post the second one (which should be soon, I hope) before you decide if you like it or not. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I _wish _the Ace Attorney series belonged to me but, sadly, they don't. Capcom owns all the characters mentioned in the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Thoughts and a cup of tea**

Franziska von Karma was sitting at her office in Germany, staring out of the window with a cup of tea in her hands. Snowflakes were gently falling to the ground and covering it in their pure whiteness even though April was only a few days away. It was a cold winter that had engulfed the country.

However, she wasn't thinking about the weather as she mindlessly sipped her hot tea. Her thoughts were filled with plans for the future.

She had quite enjoyed working with Interpol. It was as if this job was made for her. It provided the challenge she had always looked for in a vocation however tedious and stressful it was. After all, she didn't mind working more; it was the occupation of prosecuting that, for better or for worse, had defined her since her birth.

She didn't remember the possibility of some other job crossing her mind even when she was very young. That she would become a prosecutor was a fact. And so her life proceeded with that single goal in mind something that now made her wonder if things would have turned out differently had she decided to pursue another career.

Of course, she was almost scared at the thought of a different occupation. She loved deeply what she was doing, she really did. And maybe, that was one of the causes of the occasional inner turmoil she experienced the last couple of years.

She was raised in order to become someone who would give criminals what they deserved, a fighter at the side of justice. Or so she was told anyway. She had dedicated herself to that from the moment she had started to comprehend the world. How a child was able to so passionately dedicate herself to such a goal even she couldn't understand, but that was the truth.

With the belief that what she was doing was for the benefit of all society rooted deeply in her heart, the demand she should be perfect in her job seemed only reasonable. The slightest mistake would mean that a criminal would get the chance to escape the law and harm more people and that was something Franziska –or any other von Karma- could not tolerate.

And that's another thing she liked in her cooperation with Interpol: it didn't conflict with the von Karma creed.

Being in an organization committed to arresting and indicting the worst criminals worldwide meant that nothing less but perfection was expected of her. While that might have scared others off, it failed to intimidate the German prosecutor. After all, she had to cope with such a task her entire life.

Of course, it was not just the high expectations of this particular job that had attracted Franziska. It was also the fact that the possibilities Interpol would be after an innocent man were pretty much zero. As such, she would avoid these new feelings of guilt that seemed to grow stronger and stronger since her fatal decision to visit America about a year ago.

Because Franziska had long begun to realize the fault of her ways; a realization that crushed her like nothing else ever had and possibly ever would. Since her life was constructed around the strong belief that she was doing the right thing and thus should never be defeated, the realization that through her attempts to live up to her father's teachings she had probably wronged many people had devastated her.

Her entire world slowly crumbled in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do except for try to prevent it from being destroyed or she would be destroyed alongside it.

If these seven years she had been a prosecutor were naught but a big mistake, then the childhood she had given up for the sake of her studies, the passion with which she had worked all along… they would be meaningless. She would have walked down a path made of lies with great pride and without giving it a second thought. She would have hardened herself like that for no reason at all and she would have carried other unfortunate souls with her down their collective demise.

This thought -that she had given her entire being to a mistake- was too torturing for her to cope with it. Had it not been her father's demand for perfection, she might have found the actual meaning of her profession long ago and she might have not been hurt so badly.

But then again, had that been the case, she wouldn't be Franziska von Karma and she wouldn't be sitting in that chair.

And these 'ifs' reminded her of another big part of her life: Miles Edgeworth. If he hadn't been brought to her house all these years ago, her situation would have been fundamentally different.

First of all, she would never have started her career at the tender age of thirteen. Her father's plans for her were to become the heir to his legacy when the time would be right. That is, before he discovered the potential of that boy with the sad and scared eyes who had so suddenly entered her life.

Yes, Edgeworth had much more talent than her in prosecuting and both of the von Karmas knew it. As such, Miles became the center of Manfred's attention, making Franziska feel ignored and unimportant. She had developed a close bond with the boy during the first four years of his life in the von Karma estate and, while there were no demonstrations of affection between them, they had come to a great level of understanding.

That was when Miles Edgeworth was still free from her father's perfection creed. Once he started to be affected by Manfred's ideas, their relationship started to change. He became colder even though he had never stopped treating her with care despite starting to resemble her father more and more.

Of course, that didn't bother her at first since, according to what she was taught, that was the way every prosecutor should be; sentimentalities should be avoided as much as possible in order for one to become stronger. However, when Manfred pretty much turned all his attention to Miles, Franziska started to become very competitive.

There were times she truly, honestly hated Miles Edgeworth and how he would outdo her when it came to studying and how her father would treat him like an equal when she was pretty much seen as a mere child.

Of course, deep down, she could never hate Miles and she really admired him for his intelligence. But she felt that she wanted to get the praise he was given -which used to be directed to her when she was younger- back. She wanted someone, anyone, to show some affection for her.

And the only way she could find in order for these things to happen was to defeat Miles Edgeworth. So, she started studying twice as hard trying to become a prosecutor as soon as possible.

That's why she decided to take the Bar Exam at exactly the same time as him. But, to her dismay, he once again was faster than her. Yet, she didn't let that fact discourage her. She would have plenty of time to catch up, or so she thought.

But that was when the news struck her hard. Miles would leave Germany forever. He was going to abandon her and not give her a single chance to best him. Above all, he was pretty much going to leave her all alone, with no one to consider close to her because, undoubtedly, she was much closer to Miles than she was to Manfred despite her relationship with her "little brother" gradually becoming more typical and formal.

Even that voice in her head which told her she would now have the undivided attention of her father was proven wrong. Manfred did not start to act more like a parent and Franziska had to face the harshness of the adult world before she even was an adult herself and without a single person to rely on. She had always had a harsh personality but what she eventually became was ten times worse.

In the following years, she had hoped to succeed in completely destroying her attachment to Miles Edgeworth. She thought that it would be easy now that they wouldn't see each other every single day. And indeed, the distance between America and Germany and the overwhelming amount of work they had made them grow apart. At first, she would visit him once or twice a year until all visits stopped and they would only talk through the phone. Then, the phone calls became less and less frequent until there was a time they hadn't spoken at all for two years.

Franziska wanted to think that she no longer had to feel inferior to Miles Edgeworth. He was far away after all and, with a little luck, she would forget all about him and step out of his ever-lingering and intimidating shadow.

But fate seemed to have different plans.

When one day she read in the world news section about his so-called "suicide note" her world almost collapsed. She was filled with such worry that she could hardly recognize herself for the following hours. Of course, that was only until she realized she didn't believe a single word of this foolish article.

Reluctant to even admit it to herself, if Miles had actually killed himself she wouldn't just be worried; she would have drowned in sorrow. Even though he was more like an old, loved classmate to her since she had dropped out of touch with him, that didn't mean she wouldn't be devastated if he had thrown his life away.

But somehow, there was this feeling inside her that told her he was alive and well. She couldn't tell how she knew but she trusted her gut completely and decided to do everything to make him reappear.

That was her first thought. The next thought came from her mind rather than her heart and that mind told her she would finally get her chance to surpass him. Miles Edgeworth, probably utterly humiliated from his recent losses to that pathetic attorney, had hidden somewhere to wallow in his self-pity. That's what she had thought.

At long last, she had managed to best him. His win record had forever been crushed but hers was still intact. That should have been a victory in its own but, for some reason she couldn't explain at that time, she wasn't satisfied with just that. She wanted to crush the opponent she had failed to beat so that her triumph over him would be _perfect_.

But alas, her plan backfired completely. Not only did she lose twice to Phoenix Wright, she also experienced one of the biggest shocks in her life when Miles returned.

He was a completely different man than the Edgeworth she knew. Still, he had the same unreadable expression and he would smirk in his own smug way but she could tell he no longer resembled her father. He had once again moved on without her it seemed.

And she found these old feelings of anger and hatred towards him flare up at his appearance. She had wanted to be able to rub her achievements at his face and she was longing to hear words of praise and admiration come from his mouth. She had wanted to see an expression of shame upon his face instead of his usual smarminess which gave her the impression he condemned or mocked her.

But there he was again, not fazed by her words and hurling witty comments which frustrated her and made her feel silly. It was not what she had wanted to experience after all these years she had deluded –yes, deluded- herself that she had broken free of his daunting presence. So, all she did was pathetically try to insult him only to walk away immediately after that.

Soon afterwards, though, it appeared as if her bitterness was going to disappear due to his actions that unfortunate morning -the one when she was shot. Something tugged at the very depths of her heart when he dragged her all the way to that dreadful clinic, worry-filled and panic-stricken in a way she had never seen him before. He seemed so genuinely concerned and he had helped her in a moment she had felt utterly terrified and weak although she would never admit it.

But he had to destroy everything a day later.

His words at the airport, no matter how true they were and no matter how much she wished she could follow his advice, had hurt her a lot and even made her cry in public –something she considered thoroughly undignified. She could swear she heard her heart break when he told her he would leave her behind if she denied the prosecutor's path. Just what was up with that utterly foolish dependence she had on him?

In an attempt to heal her wounds, Franziska didn't attempt to contact him for an entire year and she slowly forgot all about how much influence Miles Edgeworth had on her. During the next months, she was dealing with the anguish of trying to break free from the chains which restrained her her entire life but also the chains that provided her with comfort and support. That was her maturing process, she figured.

Even now, she couldn't say that she had completely gotten rid of those chains. Surprisingly, she had easily removed the ones that tied her to her father. She realized that she wasn't too emotionally tied with him to be forever dependant on him. His tactics were the next step but she could get rid of them easily as well. It's not like she couldn't stop herself from using illegal means to get her verdict. She rarely did so anyway. She had considered them unnecessary.

However, the rest weren't so easy to dispose of. She still felt a drive to emerge victorious in every challenge she took on although now she knew that a negative result wouldn't hurt her nearly as much as it would have some time ago. It was a step.

Also, perfection still seemed to be a desirable goal for her despite her understanding of how painful striving for it was. It simply was one of those things that she felt they defined her, one of her character traits she should keep in order to not lose her identity. So was her pride and stubbornness for that matter and so was the whip she never let go of. These were parts of her prosecuting career and that job was something she never, ever wanted to abandon.

But the chains she wished she could break more than anything seemed to be the hardest ones to remove. They were the ones that tied her to Miles Edgeworth.

She could never quite sort her feelings for that man out. He had managed to confuse her once again that February. At first she had felt happy that he had called her back to America and that peculiar tugging at her heart had appeared once again for a brief moment. It felt so nice when he had told her "I thought of you when I heard about this case." Then, she felt angry when she realized he had lied to her in order to lure her to prosecute in that trial; he had wanted to use her: that's the bitter thought she had made.

She had wanted to give him away that very moment, to reveal his true identity but, her heart prevented her from doing so. As if trying to make up for that decision, her mind brought up her desire to prove herself to him and she went along with his plan, aiming to thwart him during the trial. Again, this silly little warmth spread in her chest when the trial ended and he had told her she made an excellent partner even though she still felt too bitter at that moment to notice. And when she later saw him distressed by the earthquake, she had felt the urge to somehow comfort him; an urge she fought well.

It seemed like frustration wasn't going to show up this time, though. Even for a few days, her feelings toward Miles were purely friendly, without anger or pain tainting her mood. She even had some fun with him at that hideous French restaurant.

But she soon returned to Germany and decided to work for Interpol so, again, they didn't keep in touch despite the lack of hostility between them. It was in that airport she was reminded of her rivalry with the prosecutor and found herself in that roller-coaster of feelings for the umpteenth time.

Of course, he had to be involved in her case; just her luck. The fool had managed to get accused of murder and then started solving the case on a whim. As if that wasn't enough, he had the nerve to display concern over her safety for dealing with such a dangerous smuggling ring. Since when did he even take notice of her? He always seemed to mind her a little bit more than a decorative plant. Yet, why had she felt so touched by his question? Why could she hear a very faint and girly voice celebrating inside her mind?

But no, she couldn't ignore how mad the fact that he dared act so casual around her as if he had no idea what an emotional turmoil he caused her in each and every one of their encounters made her. Then again, he probably didn't. It was just like Miles Edgeworth to be oblivious to other people's feelings.

She stared back at the papers on her desk; the reason that lengthy recollection of hers had started in the first place. They were her father's will. Manfred von Karma had decided to change his will while in confinement. Franziska had bitterly noticed the fact the will had _changed_ for she was sure she wouldn't have been left with so much fortune had Miles not participated in her father's conviction. Manfred's fortune was split between her and her sister leaving the male prosecutor with nothing. She was going to bet that, at first, the will had included Edgeworth as well. How oddly her father always acted. His obsession with perfection had even made him choose _him_ over his own daughter and only after his entire life fell into pieces did he remember Miles was the child of his enemy and should be treated as such.

Franziska didn't like these thoughts and she didn't feel satisfied at all to inherit her father's fortune in Miles' place. Yet, she couldn't help but wonder why her father's mind worked that way. Why had he taken him in and raised him and favored him only to try to crush him fifteen years later? And if he had planned this all along, why did he make sure the boy had a comfortable life and why was he planning to bequeath a part of his estate to him?

As for Franziska, she felt absolutely nothing after it was announced to her that her father's manor and a percentage of his money would now belong to her. Her sister had gotten the rest of it in order to raise her daughter without facing economic trouble. Again, that was a slight surprise to the female prosecutor since the eldest von Karma sister didn't have the best of relationships with her father. Then again, his grandchild seemed to have brought the two of them a little bit closer so it was no wonder he wanted to make sure the little kid wouldn't miss anything money could buy and live like a proper von Karma.

However, Franziska wasn't planning to keep her father's home. She had her own house and didn't feel the need to return to Manfred's abode. There weren't that many truly pleasant memories in it after all; mostly ones of sleepless nights filled with laws and rules and feelings of inferiority and of a burden too great for a kid to bear.

But before she could sell it, she had to take with her the things she actually wanted to keep from in there. And so should Miles.

Hesitating for a moment, she picked the phone of her office and called a number she hadn't called in a horribly long time.

* * *

Miles Edgeworth was relaxing in his office with a cup of his earl grey at hand. He had really needed this long rest even though not having taken a case for half a month gave him more free time than he would have wanted. His mind strayed to all kinds of subjects...

Today, he was thinking of Franziska von Karma. He was holding an article about her success in convicting Ambassador Alba in the Cohdopian courts. There was a picture of a clearly broken and humiliated Alba being led to jail and, of course, a picture of Franziska herself standing proud and stern as always.

It had been quite the surprise when he had first seen her after their long separation, about a year ago. She had grown so much… Not that her changing was unexpected. Of course she would grow up. Yet, even though he had seen photos of her older self plenty of times, the shock was still too great.

It was hard for him not to look for the thirteen year old in Franziska's characteristics. He failed to find much at least on the outside. Because as he realized soon after, her character was the same as it used to be. Despite how mature she seemed, she was still the young girl who at times annoyed him, at times amused him with her behavior. He was sort of glad about that. It was comforting to know that something had stayed the same in a person who seemed like a complete stranger to him at that moment.

Despite the fact he would describe her as a striking woman, he had noticed that her characteristics had become harsher, her eyes were always glaring and her stance was intimidating; like a person who was forced to grow up way too soon. It made him wonder if he had gone through a similar transformation when he was brought to the von Karma household. It was possible since he faintly remembered a time when he wasn't all that serious.

Then again, wasn't the coming of age of most troubled people like that? He knew for sure that the moment he had lost his father, he had also lost his childhood along with his faith to the world. And so he became a prosecutor. Somehow, most of those who ended up as prosecutors, had experienced some sort of traumatic experience at some point in their lives. He had only found out recently what Franziska's was and he felt horrible…

The girl had always wanted to prosecute criminals, for that he was sure but, she didn't have to do it at thirteen. Possibly, the strain from studying so much while trying to act exactly like an adult had toughened her up more than needed. And he couldn't help but remind himself that it was partly his fault.

He hadn't realized his behavior had made her think he didn't care about her. Since her breakdown a year ago, he had made a point to show her he considered her an equal each time they met. Somehow, her tears had affected him more than he would have thought possible.

He knew Franziska was hiding a vulnerable side under her tough exterior. He knew because he had been trying to hide his own fears and weaknesses in the same way as well. She had been like that since he had first met her but it was a bigger shock to him to see that her inner self contrasted her outer self that much. After having to accustom himself with the fact that she was a woman now, he was suddenly reminded that she was only eighteen and probably, somewhere deep inside her, she was even younger than that; a little girl who still fought to find her place in life.

Between the span of two days, Franziska had triggered his protective instincts a bit more than he would have liked. She would never find out how deathly scared he had felt when she was shot right in front of his eyes. The thought he could have lost her was nauseating beyond belief. But still, that incident sent shivers down his spine for one more reason as well. She had been shot at her right shoulder… _Just like her father… _It was scary how similar the fates of the two von Karmas were. One would think that he would consider that similarity extremely repelling but it certainly wasn't so. For some reason, he didn't mind. He found Franziska identical and radically different from her father at the same time. Lately, he had come to understand that she was probably the latter: much, much different.

Then, it was the guilt he had felt when she had burst to tears at that rare moment of weakness. He had wanted to show her some affection but he couldn't because he knew he was partly responsible for her breakdown and had no idea if she would even want him to comfort her. After all, she had said she hated him herself.

It was unnerving to see how much her failures in court had affected her. Unnerving because he saw a part of himself in Franziska that day. Watching her being so uncertain, so close to giving up and throwing everything away… Just like he had been after taking on Phoenix Wright. It was rather distressing to see the woman he had always admired for her unfaltering determination to fulfill her cause -even if that cause was foul- ready to surrender -he wouldn't allow her to do that!- and he was glad when he saw that she wasn't going to.

He proudly watched her slowly grow up –_truly_ grow up- and gain some wisdom. He had to admit that she hadn't exactly become as he had expected her to become; her temper tantrums were still there and she stubbornly insisted on trying to surpass him but, now that he thought about it, it was probably better like that. These were her unique character traits and, he could say, they were cute.

He quickly shook his head when he realized a small smile had bloomed on his face at that thought. Why he felt himself blushing when he realized he had just described her personality as "cute" was beyond himself. After all, there was nothing bad in finding her behavior, which greatly resembled that of a wild mare, sort of charming, right?

His mind trailed off. That was exactly what he had said to Wright when he had asked him how he survived being with Franziska for so many years. Miles had solemnly replied that Franziska's company wasn't all that bad and that he actually enjoyed spending some time with her. Then, being the idiot he always was, Wright had grinned and made a silly comment to which Edgeworth simply replied that he found her personality… charming.

He wondered what seemed wrong about this now. Hadn't that always been his secret opinion of her? Secret because he would never let her –or anyone else for that matter- know. How Wright had managed to get such a response out of him, was beyond his understanding.

Miles tried to take his mind off the German prosecutor but it wasn't meant to be. The familiar number that appeared on the, now, ringing phone gave a small and completely uncalled for jolt of happiness to his heart. Pausing for a moment trying to comprehend why exactly that had happened, he then cleared his throat and answered.

"Franziska?"

"Why the questioning tone?" inquired the voice of Franziska von Karma from the other end of the line.

"You rarely call." Miles pointed out matter-of-factly. Indeed, the last few years they never called each other unless absolutely necessary. How stupid!

"True." She paused seeming to mull over that fact for a second. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I'm planning to sell my papa's estate and I thought you should come over and decide whether you'd like to keep some of the furniture or gather any belongings you had left there."

"Oh!" was Miles first reaction. He hadn't really expected Franziska to sell the house she grew up in. As much as she tried to hide it, she was known for getting emotionally attached to certain things and he thought her home would be one of them. His next reaction, though, was to feel touched she had told him. She really had no obligation to inform him of her decision or offer him anything from inside that house since it was her inheritance alone. She could do whatever she liked with it. "Thanks for taking me into consideration. I'll come over as soon as I can. I assume you're in Germany?" his question was pretty much unnecessary since he had already recognized the number she was calling him from and it clearly was from her office in Germany.

"You assume correctly." She replied. "Call me once your flight takes off. We'll meet at the airport."

"See you there."

Miles hung up and lied back on his revolving chair, many different thoughts filling his mind. The von Karma household, the place where he had passed many years of his life in, was up for sale and he didn't know how he felt about it.

His stay there wasn't exactly pleasant, though he would be downright ungrateful if he said life in the manor was horrible. Of course, the relationships among the members of the household were rather formal and lacked shows of affection while Manfred von Karma had been strict with their training and secretly plotted Mile's demise. Yet, Edgeworth could not –and would not- deny that he had gained a lot during these years.

Despite how demanding von Karma was, he was the reason Miles was so successful in his career. He had taught him everything he knew even though he had led him down the illusory path of perfection. Manfred's intentions might not have been benign but Edgeworth didn't regret his choice of occupation, whether that decision had actually been made by Miles or forced on him by Manfred seemed unimportant.

Also, he was never deprived of anything as a child due to how wealthy the von Karmas were. His life had actually been rather luxurious and he owed his refined manners and style to his upbringing by Manfred, although he had to deal with unpleasant jokes about his sense of fashion and his manners plenty of times.

And, of course, his stay there gave him the opportunity to meet Franziska.

It truly was strange. The best and worst things in his life had come from that single, inhuman action of his mentor. That was probably the reason Miles was completely indifferent when it came to the conviction of Manfred von Karma. There was an equal amount of bad and good memories connected to his life under von Karma's care so he could feel neither love nor hatred toward the man.

Then again, he did miss a very important thing during his years in Germany: genuine love. Manfred was a cold person and wouldn't show much affection even to his own children. The governesses who were frequently taking care of them seemed more like they were greatly bored and annoyed by their behavior than interested in forming a closer bond with them. The eldest daughter was indifferent towards him and, even if there was a chance this would change, this chance disappeared completely when she left the house –or rather escaped- to live her life the way she wanted and make her own family since Manfred had never appreciated her due to her refusal to become a lawyer. And Franziska… Miles really thought that she was the only one who loved him inside that house but, had started to doubt she did. She seemed to hate him for constantly being in the spotlight and stealing all of her father's attention ever since they were kids.

For all he knew, though, she could be right about him wanting to be the heart of attention. He couldn't really judge any of the things he did, or in this case wanted, in his teens since he was under a lot of pressure; pressure he would like to forget about. On one hand were von Karma's teachings which clouded his logic and on the other were his constant nightmares and phobias getting the best of him. He would not judge any of his actions because he had decided to let his past behind since he couldn't do anything to change it and look on to the future.

"Let his past behind" was easier said than done since his many fears still followed him to this day, sometimes hindering his daily life. He hated these unpleasant situations that occurred due to them and he was trying to fight his fears off but to no avail. He might have managed to change his heart and mind but it seemed his body refused to do him a favor and stop shivering at the slightest tremble of the earth or at the mention of an elevator. Even his fear of heights was annoying despite it not being connected with his father's death.

With a sigh, he peeked at his watch and calculated how much time it would take him to prepare for his trip. Since he had no case in his hands right now, he could as well leave right away. He made the necessary calls to the Chief Prosecutor in order to inform her of his departure and booked his tickets online.

Tomorrow morning he would leave for Germany. A strange warmth filled him at the thought he would see the ever distant Franziska once more and he felt a peculiar excitement as his mind brought forth her form. And he would swear that, in the image that popped in his head, she looked more beautiful than usual.


	2. Chapter 2: The von Karma estate

**First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited/read/whatever the story. I really appreciate it!**

**On a second, unimportant note I like describing mansions -as I think this chapter proves. XD**

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**Chapter 2**

**The von Karma estate**

The two prosecutors were standing outside the worn-out-due-to-abandonment-but-still-impressive von Karma manor. Edgeworth's mind was filled with all kinds of small and unimportant memories which, though, were the details that fleshed out his more significant ones.

There was the big iron gate that only opened with the use of a remote. He couldn't see it from here because the rock fence and the line of cypress trees behind it were hiding it, but he knew there were a few dog houses close to the gate where the guard dogs used to sleep.

A huge garden spread out behind the fence. Usually it was full of all kind of beautiful plants and the grass was always well-trimmed. Though one couldn't see it unless stepping inside the garden, there also was a backyard of pretty much the same size as the front yard standing there, invisible to an outsider since the mansion was interrupting the view. It was where the horses of which all three von Karmas were very fond and very skilled at riding, used to stay. Miles had tried his luck at horseback riding and realized that it was definitely not for him -what with his fear of heights-, something that earned him plenty of teasing from Franziska who would, by the way, have entered a national tournament had she not refused for the sake of studying.

The two storey mansion itself was a sight to behold with its six bedrooms, the huge library in which the children spent a lot of their time, the attic which had become an observatory since the manor had a brilliant, unpolluted from the city lights view to the night sky, the original paintings hanging from the walls and many other features and details that would take hours to recite.

Currently, though, the mansion wasn't as striking as it used to be. The grass was overgrown and there no longer were patterns formed by flower beds on the ground. The paint had come off the walls at certain parts, there was absolutely no life in the building or yards and the manor emitted a sense of desolation.

The pair exchanged glances and, as if agreeing on an unspoken matter, both entered through the gate and moved toward the house. They hadn't talked much since they met at the airport but the silence between them wasn't awkward. It almost never was. And, as they walked together down the same stepping stone path they used to walk down more than six years ago, their minds filled with memories which secluded them in their thoughts, the chances of them starting a conversation vanished completely.

Once inside, they both knew what to do without having discussed anything before. They visited the dust-filled rooms checking for items they might want to keep. It was a lengthy process since they needed to take a look at everything and sometimes got distracted by the, admittedly, few photographs they found around the house or some belonging they had completely forgotten about.

After hours of searching they both headed to their own offices to sort out the lists they had made and, in Franziska's case, take care of paperwork.

The German prosecutor sat moodily at the leather chair and opened the suitcase with the files. Visiting the home she had only recently left had reminded her exactly why she had wanted to sell it. Being there made her upset and she couldn't quite find the cause, though, she guessed it was her father's everlasting presence in every corner of that building.

She had done her best to leave his death behind and she had succeeded for he hadn't been close enough to her to make her cling to his memory. That didn't mean going through it all was easy, though.

His death had an impact on her, yes. Despite what he had done –and to a person she held in a special place in her heart too- he was still her father. His passing was enough to bring a few tears to her eyes but she had quickly composed herself afterwards.

The feeling that tortured her wasn't pain or grief or something most people would feel at the death of their parent. She realized that, what had been bothering her was change. Manfred von Karma represented the part of her which sought perfection and discarded all weaknesses. Wrong as it may have been, it actually offered her protection. She wanted to get rid of it but it was hard… However, she wasn't going to give up. If she had to, she would sell everything that connected her with her father not out of hatred toward him but out of her need to truly grow up and become her own person, someone who wouldn't be defined by their last name.

Determinedly, she started filling the necessary papers. If she could concentrate on just that, it would take her less than half an hour to finish and she would get away from the house once and for all.

Gentle footsteps were heard from the office next to hers. Franziska sighed and closed her eyes irritably. _If _she could concentrate… She had momentarily forgotten about Miles Edgeworth. The fool had been a constant source of irritation throughout the day and the worst part was that he hadn't been doing it on purpose.

He just had to greet her with a smirk and a teasing comment and, even though she made sure to whip the smirk off his face, she couldn't deny she actually liked his remarks and his smarmy grins.

And her heart had fluttered slightly when he had said he was glad to see her again but, she was proud of the way she told him off immediately, hoping to prevent him from talking to her more. She seemed to be quite successful too since they almost didn't speak at all after that. She had tried to tell herself that it was better that way because she couldn't stand how his voice caused her heart to skip beats every now and then. Just where had these foolish reactions come from? They weren't there previously. Or where they and she simply hadn't noticed? Had they, maybe, intensified, notifying her of their presence and annoying her endlessly?

But, no, these things happened in the morning. She had forgotten all about them… mostly because other thoughts had replaced them in her mind. Unfortunately, they too concerned Miles Edgeworth or at least a younger version of him.

This house was also full of their childhood. And again, she realized how much their life had changed since then. The way they viewed the world, their appearance, their interests, the way they interacted with each other…

She couldn't help but wonder, though, if she was the only one that felt like everything had changed so drastically. It was almost as if she had started from zero again after that fatal flight to America a bit more than a year ago. As if all of her life in Germany and what she had learned there was a lie and she had to start over once again. She even had trouble being around the person she used to call "little brother". Why did the nickname sound so silly to her now?

Realizing she was spacing out, she shook her head with a grunt and decided to return to her work. She raised the glass of water she had placed on her desk wanting to take a sip but she dropped it in shock when the ground started shaking.

The glass fell hard on the desk and broke, one of the bigger pieces digging into the palm of her right hand. She hissed in pain but made sure to remove the papers from the desk in order for them not to get ruined before she removed the fragment. Fortunately, her leather gloves had prevented the glass from piercing her too deeply.

In the meantime, the earthquake had ceased and, except for the mess on her desk, it seemed like nothing else had been affected. However, she knew there was something –or rather someone- else who might need help.

Disregarding her injured palm, she rushed to the office of the older prosecutor, only to find him curled up at the floor, shaking in fear. As she stood there seeing him so vulnerable, she got flashes of her own self in her moments of weakness, crying alone in some dark corner of her room because she wouldn't allow anyone to see her like that. How many times she had wished someone would pop up, give her a hug and tell her everything would be okay…

Franziska had seen Miles in a similar state many other times in the past and she had always scorned him for that behavior despite feeling very strong guilty pangs… despite knowing that she acted the same way when something triggered her own fears… despite knowing that all the boy needed in these cases –just like what she had needed in similar situations- was some support. Not knowing what came over her, she did something she thought would never do. She sat down next to Miles and embraced him, though a bit awkwardly.

Desperate for some comfort, the male prosecutor returned the gesture quite fiercely, clinging onto her as if his life depended on it. Admittedly, he was hurting her a bit the way he pressed his arms around her waist and it was greatly unnerving for her to see the man she admired so much and looked up to be in such a state. Especially unnerving was the fact that she felt a couple of hot tears drop on her chest where Miles had hid his face.

Not really used to comforting others, she slowly rubbed his back with her hand as she had seen other people do in situations like this one. Surprisingly, that seemed to work quite well as his grasp on her gradually softened and he no longer shook and whimpered.

In fact, now that Miles had calmed down, Franziska, embarrassedly, realized that she was actually enjoying this hug –probably the first one they had ever shared. She liked the warmth he emitted from every part of his body. It was as if the temperature on her belly where he had rested his left hand, her back around which he had curled his other hand and pretty much the entire left side of her torso which connected with his body was now higher by one or two degrees.

She also enjoyed feeling the muscles of his back as she moved her hand up and down and she was tempted to move her right hand which was placed at the small of his back at his belly to check if his abs were trained enough. His head on her chest wasn't helping her either.

Before this could become too much to handle, Miles finally broke the hug and looked straight into her eyes, a deeply grateful and very soft look in his eyes, accompanied by a sweet smile upon his lips; a smile he only rarely used.

He took her hands in his own and spoke. "Franziska… Thank you so much. You don't know what this means to me. No one has ever done something like that before and I…" his voice trailed off as he noticed that one of her gloves was wet. Where his hand had touched hers, a red substance had colored it.

Before she could react, Miles took her glove off and turned her hand around to see the wound which was bleeding too much for its size; the way injuries coming from glass fragments, papers and other sharp objects do.

"Wait right here." He told her and dashed out of the room, glove in hand.

It took only a moment for frustration to kick in. What was she doing? First, she had gone and hugged him without thinking and she had actually _liked _it. Then, instead of maybe yelling or hitting him to prevent him from getting any ideas, she had simply sat there captivated by that look in his eyes and let him hold her hands. She was now hoping that he didn't notice her giving a shiver when his skin had touched hers or, if he had, that he would think she had quivered from pain or from the cold.

Trying to make the weak voice which kept asking what was wrong with all these nice things that had just happened shut up, she started pacing irritably back and forth in the room, thinking of the best way to chastise Miles Edgeworth for his behavior once he returned from whatever he went to do.

She was perfectly ready to give him a good yell when he opened the door but, maybe because he came in with that smile on his face or maybe because she was utterly surprised from seeing him walk in with a wet paper and some bandages, she didn't realize any of her plans.

Instead, she remained silent as he used the paper to clean her hand from the blood and then carefully bandaged it. "Your glove is pretty much ruined. You'll have to get a new pair." he stated and, without any other warning, he removed her other one as well. "You can't go around wearing just one glove, right? Besides," he said as he finished bandaging her wound, "it's better like that. You have beautiful fingers." He held her hands again for a second before he turned around and left the room, smiling at her one last time.

Thunderstruck was a befitting way to describe Franziska at that moment. Her heart had started to beat faster at his last comment and a small part of her mind was about to have a party, but anger quickly took over.

Again, she had failed to control herself, to do what she was supposed to in order to stop these foolish feelings –because she had finally understood what was happening to her- from getting the best of her.

A part of her was stubbornly stating that all this was wrong and made her appear weak not to mention that there was no way he would be interested in her while another part told her all this was brilliant and there was nothing wrong with it. Of course, what that part couldn't disagree with was the fact that Miles would never feel the same way about her. He had always been much better than her in every way so, why would he be interested in someone short of perfect? Someone like Franziska? And he had never seemed to care enough for her or he wouldn't leave her behind all the time.

More torn and frustrated than ever, she left his office and returned at hers, planning to forget herself by taking care of paperwork as she always did. It seemed to work at first and she had managed to calm down completely by the time the sun which was already low on the horizon, disappeared behind the mountains and the night begun.

However, it seemed as if she was never meant to finish her job that day. Suddenly, she heard a soft melody come from the living room. She tried to ignore it at first but she realized she couldn't. It was Miles who was playing the piano.

Her mind was filled with memories of peaceful evenings during which the prosecutor would hone his piano skills as she studied. Studied probably wasn't the correct word, though, because she never managed to stay concentrated when he was playing due to how good it was.

Realizing there was no way she could finish now, she gave up with a sigh. Then, she stood up and headed to the living room to listen to the song more clearly. For one reason or another, Miles hadn't turned on the lights and Franziska was glad about that. He was sitting there, illuminated by the silvery moonlight which was quite bright that night due to the full moon. The calm song he was playing, the gentle movements of his fingers on the keys and the beautiful lighting offered a very serene sight.

She leaned on the doorframe and allowed herself to smile a little bit; something she wouldn't have done if the room wasn't dark and she wasn't sure that Miles hadn't noticed her standing at the door.

She waited for him to finish playing before she spoke. "This was a beautiful song you were playing, Miles Edgeworth."

"Indeed." He replied calmly. If he was surprised to see her there, he didn't show it. "Do you want to try?" he offered, pointing at the instrument and making seat for her next to him.

Franziska was taken by surprise. She had always wanted to learn how to play the piano. However, she had sacrificed that dream of hers for the sake of prosecuting. She couldn't afford spending time to practice if she wanted to pass the bar exam at the same time as he.

And anger boiled once more inside her. Miles Edgeworth had managed to both play the piano and become a prosecutor while she had given up plenty of things only so that she could surpass him in that profession. And she had failed.

Oh, how much she desired one, just one victory against him! Perhaps, this was her chance to prove herself. If she could play well –with an injured hand nonetheless- and impress him… If it was proven she had some sort of talent in this instrument…

Her imagination fueling her determination, she joined him. "Show me." She demanded, feeling a bit of her usual self returning.

He smiled and started giving her directions. In theory, Franziska had understood everything and thought it was easy. It was in action she encountered a lot of problems. No matter what, she couldn't make the sound he had made before. Her hands wouldn't respond in time and she made mistakes.

After a few tries, her drive slowly left her and anger settled in. Why couldn't she make anything right? He was better than her even in that. She was almost determined that he had offered to teach her on purpose so that he could humiliate her. Yes, that was probably it.

Her rage was about to burst when it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Miles had placed his hands over hers and was wearing that disarming smile on his lips once more. It was as if he had sensed her frustration and had decided to do something about it.

"Let's do it together." He gently said and pressed his fingers on her own, guiding her hand.

The blue-haired woman let him move her hands without a protest. This was very unlike her but it was as if his touch had an almost magic effect on her; as if she couldn't feel angry when his hands were on hers. And suddenly, she was glad she wasn't wearing her gloves.

The sound which was coming from the piano was still not perfect. Mistakes were made now and then and it was to be expected but, surprisingly, Franziska didn't mind. Even though it wasn't really her playing and even though she would, normally, never approve of the false notes, she was actually truly enjoying the experience.

At some point, Miles turned and smiled at her and she found herself mirroring him. Then the song came to an end and silence engulfed the room. Shyly, his fingers entwined with hers and a low gasp escaped Franziska'a lips.

She realized that she had been holding her breath as he uttered her name and she felt as if it sounded sweeter when he was pronouncing it. "I really wanted to thank you for comforting me back then..." he told her warmly.

Just why was that fool making such a fuss over it?

"I suppose that you can't imagine how much I appreciate it. I really do." And he meant his words in the most sincere way. Because he too had realized just why he had felt so elated at the thought he would meet her again. And maybe he would still be confused about his feelings had she not hugged him. Her touch had felt heavenly at that moment of fear and he had decided he should let her know even though he harbored no hopes she would return his feelings. Why would she after all? She couldn't stand him, right? He couldn't reach her high standards of perfection.

"Normally, I never let someone approach me or try to comfort me when I'm panicked like that." he continued, lowering his head a bit as if ashamed. "Except, maybe, for you." he added and hoped his slight blush didn't show. This was definitely not his thing and he had never done anything like that before. "Actually, not even you but, not because I didn't want to. My fears are simply not something I'm proud of." He was expecting her to start lecturing him about showing his weaknesses like that but no word came out of her mouth so he continued.

"Yet, you _did_ come and I…" at this point he was completely out of words. There were so many things he had felt and wanted to express but found himself unable to. His usual eloquence had abandoned him when he had needed it the most. He tried to substitute those unspoken words by squeezing her hands in his, hoping this would get the message through.

In the meantime, Franziska had to try very hard to keep her composure because everything inside her seemed to have gone crazy. Her heart was beating fast ever since Miles had started speaking and his face had come much closer to hers than she would have liked; close enough to feel his breath which smelled of his favorite vanilla tea. A very calming smell… and one she found extremely intoxicating. Her mind had stopped working and she was feeling unreasonably happy to have linked hands with him.

"Franziska…" he paused immediately after speaking, trying to find a way to say what he really wanted to and looked into her eyes as if trying to find some answer inside them. "You… You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

She froze. Was it just her or was that Mile's way to-

Her trail of thought was interrupted abruptly by the feel of his lips on hers. Any chance that her mind would return to a more down to earth state was absolutely lost that same moment. She was overcome with some paralyzing feeling that made her feel like she was flying. And Miles wasn't even moving his lips yet, as if waiting for her approval.

Hesitating only momentarily because she knew that her decision now would change everything, she responded slowly and timidly, trying to channel her feelings to that kiss.

He had trouble remembering a time when he had felt more light-headed and joyous than the second he felt her lips move against his. She was kissing him very softly, with a tenderness he had never expected from her. He realized that she had completely lowered her guard now and was showing him her innermost feelings. One wrong move here would destroy everything and hurt her so he tried to be as tender as she, though he found it hard to rival such softness and these lips that tasted of chocolate and cherries.

Their kiss seemed to last for an eternity but, when they broke slightly to look at each other through half-lidded eyes, they only did so in order to unlink their hands and wrap them around each other, kissing again with more passion.

Miles ran his hand through her silky hair and curled the other around her waist, pulling her onto his body as she cupped his face with her right hand and placed the left one on his chest. He found incredible how perfectly their bodies fitted together and how divine the feelings inside him were.

Sometime, the kiss had to end and Franziska laid her head on his chest, embracing him. It felt as if she had just been freed from something. That something probably was the belief she wasn't good enough for Miles; that he didn't approve of her. In the end, all she had really wanted was proof that he loved her even though she would have never imagined he would love her in that way.

Miles caressed her hair as he laid his head on her own, smelling her hair which gave off a faint fragrance of jasmine. He was reluctant to use that word after all the trouble it had caused them but, he found no other more befitting for that moment; it was _perfect_.

"Miles…" she muttered and her voice sounded like music to his ears, "do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

The male prosecutor gave a start. "W-what? T-that soon?" he stuttered, not knowing what else to say and trying to hide the tinge of red at his cheeks.

Franziska giggled, startling him even more because he wasn't expecting her to make such a childlike sound. "Of course not, you fool! I'm not that easy, Miles Edgeworth." She smirked, making him blush more and this time he was sure she saw. "I asked you if you would like to _just_ sleep with me." Now it was Franziska's turn to blush. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Both of them were great at this sort of thing.

Miles took a strand of her hair into his fingers and put it behind her ear. The smile had returned to his lips, slowly turning into a more playful version. "Sure." He replied and, without warning, he took her in his arms and headed to the bedroom upstairs.

"Miles!" she screeched in a very un-ladylike manner and clung onto him.

He laughed and held her tighter and, before long, he was laying her gently on her bed and going to lie next to her. He would have suggested she changed into something more comfortable but she seemed pretty tired and ready to fall asleep at any moment so, he let her sleep in her clothes.

He sat there and watched her as her baby blue eyes slowly closed, a faint smile on her lips. She seemed so peaceful when she was asleep… he felt a wave of warmth wash through him as he watched her. He caressed her hair once before leaving to change into his pajamas. He felt a little guilty he would be in more comfortable clothes than her but he really didn't want to ruin his suit.

When he had changed, he covered her as best he could with the covers –Germany was particularly cold this year- and contentedly laid himself to sleep, taking her hand in his while doing so.

* * *

**Note: The song I imagined Miles was playing is River Flows in You -no, I'm _not _talking about Bella's Lullaby- by Yiruma but, of course, you can have him play whatever you want in your mind.**


	3. Chapter 3: Longing

**Okay, chapter 3 is the longest one and it was supposed to be even longer but I decided to put the things I left out at the last chapter. Again, I'd like to thank all who left a review and read the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Longing**

Miles Edgeworth woke up the next morning to find Franziska still sleeping next to him. Smiling, he propped himself on his elbow and started stroking the woman's light blue hair. That move, though, made her wake up with a soft moan as her eyelids fluttered open.

"Good morning." He whispered without stopping caressing her hair.

A small smile appeared on her lips before it quickly turned into a smirk. She fixed her eyes on his pajamas and spoke. "Miles… These are pink." And after a moment, she made sure to add: "And so is your face. Maybe we should trade clothes? You see, mine are blue. More proper of a color for a man, no?"

With a very bright red blush, Edgeworth climbed off the bed and left the room flustered, Franziska's laughter and "Where are you going?"s following him on his way out.

That was it. He wouldn't bring her breakfast in bed as he was planning to. Sorry, but not even Franziska was allowed to poke fun on the color pink unpunished.

* * *

Later that day, the two were found strolling in a quiet park in the city, a place in which they hoped they could enjoy their walk without being recognized. After all, both of them were quite famous in Germany and they'd rather avoid having people gossip about them.

It was quite cold that day yet there were plenty of people who had gone for a walk; probably because of the thin layer of snow that had covered everything. Mostly families with children who played with the snow and young couples like them who had decided to take advantage of the romantic atmosphere the beautiful white powder created could be seen in the park.

The two walked in silence, the only indications of their feelings being their linked hands, the light blush on their cheeks and their faint smiles. There really was no reason for them to talk. They had nothing worthwhile to say and they were pretty sure words would fail them if they were to share their thoughts. But they both knew the sense of peace and completeness they felt was mutual and no words would be able to express that better than their own body language.

Miles noticed a cotton candy stand and paused. He was reminded of a little girl with a blue ribbon on her hair who excitedly and repeatedly asked her mildly annoyed father to buy her some; the same girl who soon after had declared it her favorite sweet and, a few years later, mysteriously stopped asking for it.

Franziska followed his gaze and spoke, already knowing what the prosecutor was about to say. "Don't even think about it, Miles Edgeworth." However, something in her tone and the way she stared at the stand made it clear that she didn't really mean it. She used to love cotton candy. For all she knew, she still did. One day, though, she had decided she was too mature for a children's treat. That had happened when she was six.

"Why not?" the man asked slightly tugging her arm to make her move toward the stand.

"Because we're not kids anymore." She stated, though quite weakly. "Besides, what will people who see us eating think?"

"They might think that we're acting rather childishly or they might think nothing at all. In any case, why should we care?"

Not being able to give an answer, she reluctantly let Miles guide her to the stand where the owner smiled sweetly at them and gladly handed them the candy. They sat on a secluded bench and Miles, in his usual gentlemanly fashion, let her take the first bite for he was planning to eat some of the candy too.

Franziska shyly nibbled on the puffy pink substance, a small smile lighting her face up as she tasted the treat she hadn't eaten for the last thirteen years. Miles mimicked her but brought his face a little too close to hers for her comfort. She felt the urge to capture his lips with hers as he helped himself to the cotton candy, not seeming the least bit reluctant to enjoy what was considered a childish treat even though he would normally never do something like that. However, he sincerely felt like a little kid when Franziska was around and had no problem acting like one.

"Are you going to eat or will you let me devour it myself?" he teased her when he noticed she was staring at him.

With a "humph", she continued taking bites only to have Mile's face get even closer to hers as he calmly ate his own share. Was he doing it on purpose? She needn't wait long to get her answer. He gently pulled her a little closer and passed a hand around her waist as if encouraging her to lean on him.

"Miles…" she grumbled. "What are you doing? I thought we didn't want anyone to see us."

"Our bench is hidden rather well by those bushes and hardly anyone passes us by. I highly doubt we would get noticed." He countered her, in a fashion much similar to how he would if he was in court. "Oh come on, Franziska! I've started to get a bit jealous of the other couples we saw. I'd like to show you just a little bit of affection."

Franziska couldn't help but stare deadpanned. She could hardly recognize Miles since yesterday night. That was not his usual oblivious to love self. That was not the man who would care much more about a fly than any mention to romance or relationships. _'He is almost acting childishly…'_ she thought and the last half of the sentence popped up in her mind before she could realize it: _'…like a fool in love.'_

And she suddenly found herself extremely elated at that small sentence she had formed inside her head. It was as if she had discovered some truth that was escaping her, as if his actions had finally convinced her of something. However, she quickly chastised herself for that foolish reaction. Was she really doubting he was in love with her? Last night should have been more than enough proof for her and yet, it somehow seemed that it wasn't. Just where were these insecurities coming from? She shouldn't be worried about his feelings and she shouldn't celebrate like that at the smallest signs of affection. But she did and she had to wonder why she wouldn't let him act as intimate as he wanted when she herself wished nothing more than to pull him into a fierce kiss and never let him go.

Reluctantly, she laid her head on his shoulder as she cuddled closer to him. She felt a bit awkward as she did so but, soon, she started to relax. Especially since it felt like the snow-covered park belonged all to themselves since almost nobody passed them by. And the cold too appeared to become much more bearable as their bodies pressed together.

Miles allowed himself a small, cocky grin. He loved how he was slowly taming this wild mare. He might have gotten a whipping for his behavior at another time but now Franziska's weapon was lying in her bag and she didn't seem willing to take it out. He was wondering if he should play a game with himself. Could he anger her enough to make her use it or not? He was really starting to wonder what he found so amusing and cute in her irritable and pretty much violent nature.

Miles heard a familiar melody being played at some other place of the park, probably by one of the wandering musicians. The sound was faint but clear and Miles, despite not knowing the song's lyrics, could feel that it probably was some sort of love song with an easy-to-follow rhythm which the prosecutor found to his taste. He considered both a good chance to irritate Franziska and show her that more romantic part of him which had been in slumber until the woman had awoken it. He lowered his head a bit and brought his mouth close to her ear, humming the song softly and preparing himself for Franziska's reaction.

Franziska froze at the sound of his voice which, although merely a hum, wasn't halfway bad. Hearing him made her heart melt. Who would have guessed Miles had such a warm and soft voice which could somehow move her without him even saying a word? Judging he had made a good move, Franziska decided to reward him.

Miles Edgeworth was prepared for anything but what followed. He would gladly get whipped for his singing and he wouldn't mind a flustered or angered Franziska if that were to be his punishment for his insolence but, he had definitely not expected to hear her own, soft hums meld with his as she nudged herself closer to him, closing her eyes contentedly, enjoying how his neck rumbled slightly in order to produce his voice.

* * *

Everything had been taken care of by the next morning. The mansion would not be put up for sale as Franziska now _had _a reason to feel emotionaly attached to it. She made several arrangements in order to restore the house to its previous, impressive state and then the pair chose to return to their homes in America. The two prosecutors had decided to go back to Los Angeles even though there was no particular reason for their decision. They had no cases to take care of there and staying abroad offered them an opportunity to study and take on challenging cases. And maybe that's why they wanted to go back to America. In Germany, they certainly would be assigned some big, time consuming case and, right now, the only thing they wanted to spend time on was each other. And for the first time in their lives, prosecutor Edgeworth and prosecutor von Karma felt the need to shirk work.

The pair had travelled from Germany to America and back again countless times. They had also always boarded on first class and enjoyed all the comforts it offered. And still, the trip had always seemed way too long and boring to them. It was so much different when they were together, though.

It appeared that talking helped time pass by more efficiently than reading magazines or watching movies just for the sake of doing something. They realized they could talk about pretty much anything from the quality of the food to law and truly enjoy it. Even the most boring subjects could become interesting, just because they relished at merely listening to each other's voice. It was a thousand times better when they could have a fascinating conversation about things they both liked.

And they found cuddling with one another while watching some old movie strangely pleasurable despite how very uncomfortable they were. You see, the first class seats were designed so that only one person could sit on them and they seemed determined to fit together in just one seat, no matter how weird that looked or how sore their muscles would be afterwards.

Of course, that was meant to bother someone at some point. Especially since Miles had insisted on feeding Franziska a box of chocolates only to hear her violently protest until she decided she actually liked that and started feeding him as well. But it was probably the fact they ended up using their mouths to place the chocolates into the other's own mouth and then gave up on the box completely and started making out. Yes, that was when the passenger opposite to them cleared his throat loudly, making them remember where they were and how they should behave as he informed them the movie he was watching was full of such scenes and he didn't really need to watch them in live action, thank you.

It was then that Franziska and Miles parted and went to sit at their respective seats, self-consciously. They were expecting that irritable passenger to fall asleep at some point, though.

* * *

The first thing the two prosecutors did when they finally arrived at America was to get back to work immediately. Despite not really being in the mood to spend hours upon hours of doing paperwork, it was as if they were programmed to automatically move toward their offices for as long as they were needed there and nothing on that world seemed capable of taking that sense of duty away from them, regardless of their wants.

Miles was sitting on his black leather chair behind his desk, head leaning on his hand. He heaved a deep sigh as his mind wondered to Franziska, only two offices away from his. So close yet so far…

It had been less than a day since he had last seen her and he felt like he'd rather die than endure this torturing feeling of longing any more. He had never thought it was possible to miss someone you were away from for just a few hours so much. He wanted nothing more than to have her by his side and stroke her smooth hair or attempt to make her smile or, even better, be granted by the rare and heavenly sound of her laughter. The mere thought of her made his heart ache as if it was Franziska who provided it with the strength to beat and, every time she was away, it couldn't function properly.

Miles had to wonder just where these feelings had came from. He had known the female prosecutor since he was nine. Why had the way he viewed her changed now? He had never quite considered her his sister since Manfred wanted to make sure he didn't belong to the von Karma family. He was merely a student of his who happened to enjoy the same luxuries as they.

Still, though, never before had he thought of her as something more than… whatever he had considered her to be. He couldn't call her his sister, he couldn't call her his best friend, he couldn't call her his rival… and yet now he rejoiced in calling her his lover. Maybe that was the reason they ended up together. Their previous relationship was far too complicated. It had to become something more definable and also something which would allow them to stay just as close. It became that.

This explanation didn't satisfy him enough, though. He still couldn't understand why he realized he had romantic feelings for her now. Sure, it would be a little hard for him to develop such feelings when he was still a kid but he could have done so when he had grown old enough for that sort of thing. But then again, even if _he _was old enough, Franziska would still be a kid so, it wouldn't work either. In the end, he decided that it had happened now because, at last, Franziska was no longer a little girl and they had both changed considerably. He was certain they wouldn't have time for relationships if they still aimed at attaining perfect guilty records. Since they didn't pursue absolute perfection anymore, they could find some place in their heart for silly, peculiar emotions such as the ones they were experiencing.

"Hows" and "Whys" didn't really matter, though. He had heard that, so far as matters of the heart where concerned, one shouldn't try to apply logic –something hard for both of the prosecutors who had been taught to always use their heads to explain everything. In the end, maybe it was fate that had brought them together, despite the fact that Miles didn't believe in destiny. He, though, doubted there were many other people who were connected by such an incredible series of events. Hadn't Franziska's father killed Gregory Edgeworth, he would never have met her. Hadn't Manfred made sure they only saw each other as rivals, he wasn't sure he would have ever developed romantic feelings for her. And hadn't he written that suicide note, he might have never crossed paths with her again...

It was a series of events which were rather unpleasant and, yet, had led to something so wonderful. In the end, all it had taken for their chemistry to work was some time during which they could be alone with each other and show what they kept hidden under their hard shells.

He heaved another sigh and caught himself spacing out momentarily. He shook his head, trying to concentrate but to no avail. He was really starting to worry about his condition. Where had the so famous for his level-headedness and calmness prosecutor gone? No, he was pretty sure he was still there. After all, he had spoken in his normal, polite but a tad cold manner to his colleagues earlier that day. He would still smile slightly at the sight of the Steel Samurai figurine, proof of a silly childish side he had tried to keep secret. He had only rearranged his precious tea collection an hour ago so he knew he still found that activity pleasurable. And, when he would stare at the enormous bouquet of flowers, he would still shudder at the thought of who had sent them and he would still be reminded of how much he disliked flowers, poems about love and all sorts of romantic things. And yet, why did he find himself wondering what _her_ favorite type of flowers might be and whether he should send _her_ a card alongside the bouquet, lines from some sentimental work of literature scribed on it?

Miles decided there was no way he could fight those bizarre, nonsensical reactions. He had heard people say this sentiment wears off not too long after it appears but, did he really want it to be gone?

He heaved yet another sigh and stared intently at the wall on his right as if he wanted to penetrate the hard material with his trademark glare in order to peer at the room two offices away from his; the room in which he knew Franziska von Karma worked in.

* * *

The German prosecutor laid a small pillar of case files on her desk with a huff. She glowered at them as if they had committed an unforgivable sin. Franziska had been avoiding to hand all these files to their original owner during the course of the day but, now it was time for the inevitable.

She stared out of her window to see the city of Los Angeles lit up and the moon having risen to the sky. Most -if not all- of the other prosecutors should have left by that time but she was certain _he _would still be in his office. On one hand, she was glad nobody would see her walk past the door numbered 1202 even though she had done so multiple times before. Why she expected rumors to start spreading just because she would return some case files was beyond her understanding. On the other hand, she wasn't sure it was a good idea to see him when no one would be around. She honestly couldn't predict how she would react since thoughts of him interrupted her attempts to work all the time.

No wonder Papa had always spoken with contempt about love. It really was an awfully distracting feeling which would certainly get in the way of perfection. However, she remembered being skeptical when her father would say these things. Love seemed not bad at all to Franziska but, of course, she had kept that opinion to herself. Wait. Did she just say love?

She groaned. Franziska really needed to compose herself before going into Miles' office or she might assault him the second she saw him. As much as she hated to admit it, she had missed him greatly and wanted to see him ASAP. However, they were in their workplace and she had to control her behavior. One, she didn't want to have to listen to their fools of colleagues gossip about them behind their backs and two, public displays of affection in one's work were simply unprofessional.

Taking a few breaths to make sure her mind had full control over her body, she lifted the files and headed to his office.

When she opened the door, she found him turning the lights off and preparing to leave. The two of them froze in surprise for a moment as they locked sights and then Franziska spoke.

"I didn't know you were leaving. I came to return these case files but, I can do it tomorrow if you're in a hurry and have no time to place them back." She turned to go but Miles voice stopped her.

"No, it's okay. You can just place them on my desk and I'll take care of them when I can."

Franziska did as he told her, her muscles tensing as she approached him. They had never felt uncomfortable when they were together but, all these hours of avoiding each other and the feelings they had to keep bottled up for as long as they were in their offices had created a peculiar atmosphere between them.

The woman was ready to walk away right when she had laid the files on the clear-as-a-mirror desk of the older prosecutor but, once again, he prevented her from doing so.

"Wait!" he called out and grabbed her wrist.

Franziska froze. Oh, how she loved even this small connection of their bodies. His touch was so very gentle and yet it was firm enough to make her understand how much he wished she would stay. And his hand was so warm…

"What is it?" she questioned and she was greatly surprised her voice sounded so steady and cool compared to how her heart was fluttering.

"Nothing, really." He said, removing his hand to Franziska's dismay. "It's just that we didn't see each other for an entire day… Please, take a seat."

Although she had no idea what he was driving at, she sat at one of the comfy armchairs that stood in front of his desk and watched him reach for something hidden inside some drawer of his office.

She raised an eyebrow as she saw him brandishing a bottle of chardonnay and two wine glasses.

"It's just something I keep in my office to treat special clients." He replied at her unspoken question, a tiny smile upon his lips.

"I highly doubt I can be defined as a special client." Franziska pointed out, not fully satisfied from his reply.

"No, but you are… special…" he said, his voice fading at the end of his sentence. He cleared his throat to break the silence that followed and continued talking. "Anyway, I'm sure one glass of wine couldn't hurt, now, could it?" God! Why were things so very awkward? They had gone so far as to make out inside an airplane so, why were they acting like that? Was it just because the mere thought they were in their offices automatically forced them to act all formal?

"I suppose not." She said as he handed her one of the glasses, already filled with the white liquid. She gently stirred the wine and took a sip, her eyes closing momentarily. It tasted great, not that she would expect anything else from a wine picked by Miles Edgeworth.

As her eyes opened once more, she found the young man follow her every movement with his gaze, as if he was enchanted. Their eyes met and they quickly averted their gazes, and time seemed to start moving once more.

They emptied their glasses in silence and Franziska stood up ready to leave only to be stopped for one more time. Only now, Miles had rushed from behind his office and stood in front of her, tenderly grabbing her by the arms.

"Stay some more." He said to her and his tone was nearly pleading.

The blue-haired woman couldn't help but look into his eyes which immediately captured hers. That pair of grey orbs were staring at her with the same intensity they would glare daggers at a lying witness but there was no trace of contempt inside them. Instead, there was something else… Something that immobilized her as effectively as a glare of his would but it wasn't fear that kept her pinned there. It was something that made her knees feel just a little bit wobbly.

They stood like that for a moment and then he kissed her, his arms surrounding her waist. Not thinking twice, she kissed back and wrapped her own arms around his neck, both of them rejoicing at the touch they had longed for so much during that day.

Miles lost himself in that kiss, enjoying every moment of it and hoping it would never end. However, the taste of her lips seemed to have a far stronger effect on him than the previous times. Maybe it was the fact that he had forgotten to turn the lights back on or maybe it was because he knew they were all alone in the building, but his hands slid from the small of her back on her hips and slowly followed the curves of her body to the turquoise button that kept her vest on place. Unhurriedly, he unbuttoned it but stopped there, waiting for her approval anxiously and with his stomach tied in knots.

Franziska had to wonder why he had stopped. Had he really not felt her give a violent shiver as his hands traced her body? Could he have not realized she had taken a sharp breath of air at the way his hands had softly brushed by a few more sensitive parts of her torso? And was he really oblivious to the deafening sound of her heart beating twice as fast and fluttering crazily inside her chest?

Sure, there was a small part of her that felt a bit scared of the unknown but, the rest of her body, mind and heart were screaming 'yes' repeatedly and demandingly.

In order to show her agreement, she deepened the kiss making the both of them give out an almost simultaneous moan and she moved her elegant fingers at his cravat, which she tried to free him off.

So happy Miles felt, it seemed to him he was about to faint. Forgetting all about where they were and disregarding every unwritten rule of do's and don'ts, he lovingly pulled her closer and started leading her to the couch that stood at one side of the room.

* * *

A few rays of sunlight were what woke Miles up. The man's eyes slowly fluttered open and, before his mind could register his surroundings, it first informed him that he had never slept better in his entire life and he had never woken up to feel so fresh and peaceful and in a state of absolute bliss.

The sun coming through the wide window of his office was bright and warm making everything in the room look shiny and beautiful but, the most beautiful thing there was the one lying in his embrace.

He looked at her as the rays of light made her unusual blue hair glow and her long eyelashes glisten as she slept serenely, a faint smile resting upon her lips. The sight made his heart swell so much it hurt. He thought there was nothing else he desired in this world as he examined her.

Franziska was lying on top of him with her head resting on his chest and her lean, long limbs still intermingled with his. She was wearing her blouse and her skirt while he was wearing his shirt and pants. It had been a cool night and they had needed some articles of clothing for protection but, none of them had the strength to put on their full attires. They hardly had the strength or the will to move, hence why they stayed in his office, not caring what the consequences would be in the morning.

He started to gently stroke her back with the arm that stood around her waist, securing her in his warm embrace. His other hand was lying on his chest where his fingers entwined with hers and he slowly brought it to his mouth in order to place small kisses upon the back of her hand. He could now tell with all certainty that he loved this woman. He had known he did since long ago and, last night, he was sure beyond the shadow of a doubt. And he had wanted to tell her, he really did, but these three words were ones he had hardly ever used in his life so it wasn't easy for him to utter them. He understood, though, that both him and her had tried to say them yesterday but failed. All they could do to replace the lack of the phrase was to repeatedly mumble each other's name in a state of ecstatic half-consciousness.

The feel of his lips on her skin seemed to wake Franziska up. Once her eyes were open, her sight met with Miles' and he smiled as lovingly as he could, trying to channel all of his feelings through that simple but meaningful facial expression.

"Good morning." He whispered at her softly.

The woman smiled tenderly and released her hand from his only to place it on his cheek which she caressed with her thumb. In the same barely audible and soft voice she replied: "Guten morgen, meine liebe."

Miles' heart leaped in his chest. Had she really called him that? If she had called him her love –and in her mother tongue!- then that was her way of indirectly telling him she loved him. Feeling drunk from happiness and unable once more to speak these three words, he lifted her up slightly and kissed her with all his might, something that made her chuckle.

They broke the kiss and he could tell she had understood all of these things which had been left unspoken. He knew because he saw her eyes gleaming and, inside them, the reflection of his own eyes, sparkly like those of a kid.

They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity before they heard sounds coming from behind the door.

"People started to arrive." Miles told her, whispering still. "You'll have to go if we don't want to get in trouble." He then added sadly.

Franziska returned the sentiment with a disappointed look. None of them wanted to endure another day away from each other, that horrible sense of longing tearing their hearts apart. But they had to because of the stupid laws of professionalism.

"Fine…" she finally mumbled, clearly upset. She prepared to give him a goodbye kiss but the door swung open just before her lips could connect with his.

"Good morning, sir! I have a new case…" Gumshoe's ridiculously loud and cheery voice trailed off at the sight of the prosecutors being so intimate with one another. At first, his jaw dropped slightly but, soon after, his shocked expression turned into a grin and his gigantic shoulders started to shake as he attempted to contain his laughter. "Keep doing what you were doing you two!" he said in between giggles. "I never passed."

Still trying not to burst into uncontrollable laughter, the detective left the room and closed the door behind him with a loud bang which, though, failed to cover the sound of his chuckles.

"I swear I'll whip him dead next time I see him." Franziska mumbled as she stared at her whip which she had carelessly discarded at the floor, out of her reach. Miles believed her every word. "Do you think he might have misunderstood?" she asked but she already knew the answer.

Sure, Gumshoe was definitely not renowned for his powers of deduction but, even someone as thick as him would never mistake the meaning of clothes scattered all over the room and two people whose lips where parted and only a few inches away from each other.

"No, probably not. Gumshoe's an imbecile but he can figure out as much." Miles told her with a sigh.

"I'd better go back to my office then." Franziska muttered as she unwillingly left his embrace. "I'm certain the entire building will have heard of our relationship in less than ten minutes and I'd rather not be here when they rush to confirm the rumor. Let's not give them the right to gossip about us."

Miles knew what she said was true. Gumshoe had the extremely troublesome tendency to never keep his mouth shut. The prosecutor was willing to bet his entire fortune –and that's quite an impressive sum of money- that all of his and the detective's common acquaintances would have called him by midday to congratulate, tease him and blabber endlessly.

Miles watched as his lover would get dressed up, now able to better appreciate how beautiful her body was. After all, she had wanted it to be perfect like everything else was and the various sporting activities a von Karma had to excel in had helped greatly. He himself used to participate in them -despite him not being much of a sports person- and he had to admit they had kept him fit and in good health. Thanks to them, he was now able to walk the stairs up to the twelfth floor of a skyscraper without feeling faint. He had no idea how he would be able to do that if he had avoided exercising during his childhood.

Franziska examined her clothes. She noticed a few creases here and there, something unacceptable for her usually perfectly ironed suit. She wished she hadn't discarded them so carelessly yesterday but, then again, she wasn't really thinking about things like that the previous night.

"How do I look?" she asked Miles, wishing to know whether the creases were visible to the casual observer.

"Gorgeous as always." He replied with a smile and one of his intense gazes.

"Shut it, fool. You know what I mean." She replied but his flattery had worked since a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks.

Miles snickered. "Trust me, they're in much better shape than the clothes of most of the other prosecutors out there."

"And my hair?" she questioned him, moving her hand to fix some stray strands.

"In a lovely mess." He said truthfully but the smile never left his face. He actually liked this disheveled state. It brought him nice memories from the night and gave her a wild look; like her personality.

She grunted and grumpily tried to fix them, cursing the lack of a mirror in the office. In the meantime, Miles stood up and put on the rest of his clothes. Once Franziska decided there was nothing more she could do with her hair, she turned to the man.

"You're in a fine mess." She commented, slightly paraphrasing his own comment for her hair. What she said was not entirely true, though. Most people probably wouldn't notice his clothes hadn't come out of his closet that morning clean and ironed. It was a good thing they had a particular set of work clothes they always wore so that, if they put on the same articles two days in a row, no one would notice. Not that they would ever do something like that. This particular case was an unpredictable event so it didn't count. His hair looked bad like hers, though. There had been a lot of tugging on them by a certain female…

"It's okay. I would gladly walk around with mud on my clothes in exchange for a night like the previous one." he told her as she approached him, trying to fix him up as much as she could.

Franziska rolled her eyes but Miles would swear the edge of her mouth slightly twitched upwards. He silently stood there, enjoying how she took care of him and the gentle touch of her hands. He attempted to return the favor but he couldn't find much to improve. To him, she would look great no matter how messy her clothes or hair would be.

Once she was done, she rested her hands on his chest and stared into his eyes as if she wanted to take a nice mental picture to keep her going through the day. She then placed a small peck on his lips and spoke. "I have to go now."

He nodded and she walked away, picking her whip from the floor. She threw a last look at him, gracing him with a rare smile, before the door closed behind her.

* * *

…Enamored, smitten, infatuated, all over someone, fall for somebody, have a crush on somebody…

Wait. What was he doing? Why was he suddenly listing synonyms for 'being in love'? He stared at the paper that stood on his desk. He was looking for a phrase to use instead of 'due to' and he had come up with 'in light of'. How that had become 'in love with' in his mind he failed to comprehend.

He sighed as he noticed how little progress he had made since he had started writing the paper. Firstly, It was the thoughts of Franziska that kept distracting him from his work. And how could he concentrate when it appeared that her smell had rubbed all over him? He still felt the scent of jasmine –which he realized was not coming from some shampoo she was using or some perfume she was wearing but, instead, was the scent of her body- waft to his nostrils from his own skin and clothes and he even found himself bringing his nose close to his clothes, trying to inhale as much of the aroma as possible. Or it was just his imagination playing games on him and he simply couldn't take his mind off her.

And secondly, it was the annoying phone calls from almost everyone he knew…

Edgeworth had been completely right about Gumshoe. No more than ten minutes after Franziska left, his phone started ringing. The people he had gotten to call friends despite him constantly whining about them and their behavior seemed eager to remind him exactly why he didn't speak with the best words about them.

At first it was Gumshoe and his girlfriend Maggey who made sure to congratulate him more than a thousand times over the phone and they did it in their own unique way each. Gumshoe sniggered every once in a while and constantly spoke of how he hoped Miss von Karma would treat him a bit better now that she was in love while Maggey made sure to inform him what a fitting couple they were but, unfortunately, she then started to talk about other seemingly perfect couples which were proven to be not so perfect. Miles had the creepy feeling the woman was actually speaking about her own personal experiences with love but, he wasn't completely certain.

Then called Larry who would both praise him for "hooking up with such a hot chick" _and _accuse him of stealing his one true love and his muse. The prosecutor wasn't sure whether the change of subject that followed was a blessing or a curse. He realized he hated the crude characterizations Larry would use when it came to romance and he hated even more the image Larry had inadvertently stuck in Miles' mind; the image of his Franziska with anyone other than him. But, were these things worse than Larry going on about his nth girlfriend dumping him?

His other childhood friend called immediately after Larry and Edgeworth had to deal with three annoyances in the price of one. All Wright did was tease him non-stop about him _finally_ being in a relationship and him forgetting what exactly most people are supposed to do in their offices. Of course, Miles had no trouble expressing how much he disapproved of his behavior but, he couldn't do the same so easily when Maya and then Pearl took the phone.

The black-haired girl seemed absolutely delighted to hear of this pairing but, like Wright, she too enjoyed teasing him whenever she got the chance. Surprisingly, the conversation with nine year old Pearl was the most mature of all the ones he had had until then but still, it was far from pleasant. It was a discussion filled with girly enthusiasm and a few squeals as well as some innocent questions about love which made him blush even more than Wright's and Maya's teasing, mostly because he failed to find a way to counter a little child effectively and politely. In the end, he found himself forced to reply sincerely, praying with all his heart that the girl wouldn't repeat his answers to the man and woman who took care of her or they would never allow him to forget about this embarrassment.

The latest call he had gotten was from Kay. Thankfully, there was a lot less teasing from her since she actually respected both of the prosecutors enough not to go too far with it. But alas, the thief had the same bad trait as everyone else who had called up to that time: she would talk to her heart's content and was a little whacky. The conversation frequently strayed to unrelated subjects until she said something about a thief having to do her daily training and hung up.

He stared at the phone and sighed. He was glad his friends seemed to take the news of his relationship well. He knew that most people considered them to be like siblings and he was aware that the fact they were involved would appear shocking to them. He himself wasn't exactly sure if he should feel guilty for being with her but, right now, he couldn't feel anything close to shame or regret. What the two of them shared was too pure and too beautiful to be a bad thing. And, in the end, he didn't quite care about what others thought. If society was going to frown upon his choice then so be it. As long as he could be with Franziska, nothing else mattered.

He heard the dreaded ringing coming from the machine once more and he growled. To his utter terror, he recognized a number he never answered yet it always succeeded in sending chills down his spine and bring up the image of a woman he wished he had never met. He stared at the right wall with what was a plaintive face. He was sure Franziska wasn't getting _any _phone calls. No one was foolish enough to provoke her anger like that.

Suddenly, he wished very strongly he could be with her, in her probably much more silent office. And why couldn't he be? After all, it was no longer a secret they were together. Maybe, it wasn't such a bad thing that Gumshoe had caught them together. They'd no longer have to feel reserved when in public.

Feeling a sudden rush of happiness, he pretty much jumped up and darted to his office door, opening it and taking a peek at the corridor. Empty. If he was lucky, he would get some moments of privacy with Franziska and nobody would notice a thing. He quickly ran toward her office and pulled the door open.

There, he was met with a sight he had never imagined he would see in his life. Franziska was sitting at her chair, chin resting on her palm, and her eyes staring somewhere slightly upwards and to the left with what could only be described as a dreamy look and a small smile on her lips.

She immediately jumped, though, once she heard the door open, her hands quickly covering a sheet of paper standing in front of her. Miles could swear he noticed his name scribbled neatly among little hearts before her glove blocked his view. There was no way he could stop a cocky and very amused smirk from blooming at his face. He had no idea Franziska fell in love like a schoolgirl. Then again, he had to remind himself she actually was only nineteen so it was to be expected. Still, the scene had offered him a great deal of amusement and satisfaction. It was nice to know that she appeared much more distracted than he was.

"Oh, it's you, Miles." She said with a sigh of relief as well as a deep blush spreading all over her cheeks. "Don't you ever enter like that, again!" she then added, trying to sound frustrated but her tremendous relief prevented her voice from sounding angry. She was _very _glad it wasn't another co-worker or the embarrassment would have been too much to bear.

"Feeling a bit distracted, are we?" he teased her, smarmy smirk never leaving his face. "What were you thinking about?"

"Miles Edgeworth, you're hardly in a position to speak. Your coming here tells me everything I need to know." She told him, her expression now mirroring his own.

She stood up, whip in hand and her carnivorous smirk always at its place. Miles was afraid she was going to give him a good whipping for entering her office so abruptly and, indeed, her weapon rose to the air. However, instead of the usual sting, he felt nothing. The leather fell harmlessly on his shoulder and he felt it slowly swirl around his neck -Franziska walking in a circle around him- in a motion that made him shiver. The whip was after all, something like an extension of her hand so, it could as well had been a finger of hers softly trailing the skin of his neck.

She approached him with her eyes half-closed and her smirk becoming much more meaningful now. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her mouth close to his ear and murmuring in a low voice: "Missed me?"

He smiled playfully and wrapped his own arms around her waist. "More than you know."

Her lips met with his and they prepared to lose themselves inside each other's kiss but, it was not meant to be.

They were interrupted by the sound of the door swinging open and a cry of surprise. They managed to take a glimpse of Chief Prosecutor Skye before she closed the door once more as a reflective reaction to being surprised.

"Nobody ever knocks…" Franziska muttered as the door was opened and a much more composed Lana Skye walked in.

Surprised as they were, Miles and Franziska had still their arms wrapped around one another and, only when they noticed the Chief's raised eyebrow and slightly disapproving glance did they break away from each other, clearing their throats nervously and looking like children who were caught stealing sweets from the jar.

"I had heard rumors but I wasn't sure I should believe them." The brunette started, also seeming to be in an awkward position. Office romances were not something the prosecutors of that building were used to so, none of them quite knew how they were supposed to react when faced with such a situation.

Lana proceeded to give them a small lecture about professionalism and correct behavior during work hours but, her kind and understanding nature managed to shine through at certain parts where she would offer them a small smile and she even congratulated them at the end of her speech, leaving a few papers on Franziska's desk before she left.

Once the door closed, the smirk returned to Miles' face as he approached the woman, going back to his previous position. "So, what do we deduce from all that, Miss von Karma?"

She smirked knowingly and placed only one of her arms back around his neck. "That we should always lock our doors." She used her free hand to reach over to one of her drawers in order to take out a silver key as Miles' lips returned on hers.

* * *

**Note: Song hummed by the two is left to your imagination. If you wish to know what the author imagines, though, I can tell you I had a song called "Complainte de la butte" in my mind which is weird because the song's in french while they were in a park in Germany. XD I do recommend checking it out, though, and looking up the translation because it's a sweet song IMO. Slightly sad if you think about it but sweet nontheless.**


	4. Chapter 4: Shall we dance?

**Sorry for this kind of late update. I was busy with my exams.**

**So, this is the last chapter of the fic. I really, really enjoyed writting this and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. I'd like to thank all those who left a comment or alerted/favorited the story and, of course, the fact it is complete doesn't mean more reviews aren't welcome!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Shall we dance?**

Franziska took a quick look at the full body mirror before she went to open the door. She fixed a few stray strands of hair and smiled with satisfaction as she pulled the door open.

Behind it stood Miles Edgeworth who was nervously fiddling with a big bouquet of flowers he held with both hands. Franziska thought her heart would stop beating right then and there. Miles had always been handsome but he was unbearably so that day.

He was smartly dressed with a black tuxedo, same colored vest and a white shirt. On his neck stood the obligatory cravat, though, he seemed to have taken extra care of it since it looked… frillier? A small red rose stood on his lapel and his hair was carefully groomed but kept at its usual style. Lastly, he had put on some cologne that smelt way too good and he had that tiny, cracked smile which she found adorable. Franziska felt like swooning.

"Here." He said and offered her the bouquet which contained pink gladioluses. "The same color all of them." He then teased her.

She rolled her eyes and called him a fool but she was actually touched. Roses were among her favorite flowers and she appreciated his choice of red ones despite how clichéd it was to offer them to the one you loved.

She placed them inside a nearby vase. The vase was already occupied by other flowers but, since she had nowhere else to put them right now, it would have to do. She then turned to Miles who was still standing at the doorway, staring at her.

"What?" she asked him and put a hand on her hip.

"You look stunning." Miles simply said, making her blush.

Franziska had indeed made sure she looked her best that night. She had put on only a little bit of makeup which, though, was all she needed to light up her face and picked her favorite dress to wear that night. In other words, the dress she looked best in. Royal blue in color, it reached to her knees and was rather plain with its only decoration being a black belt matching with her black high heels and same colored thigh-highs. However, Miles noticed that the belt was rather unusual. It looked suspiciously like a snake and, a closer look, confirmed his thoughts. It actually was her whip but she had somehow stylized it so that it looked like a nice belt which she could remove anytime and lash at the fools around her.

He smirked only to receive an angry look from his lover. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?"

He composed himself again. "Nothing. Are you ready?"

"I need to put on some perfume and some jewelry."

The male prosecutor came in and waited for her as she moved to her room to add the finishing touches. She returned with a silver necklace, studded with sapphires, similar earrings and a similar bracelet.

Once she stepped into the room, Miles walked to her and hid his face in her neck, breathing heavily. "What kind of perfume is that? It's lovely!"

He started lavishing her neck with kisses and his hands unintentionally moved towards her body.

"Stop it, Miles!" Franziska objected. She was concerned that, if he continued, they would end up not going to that party since she too had wanted to tackle him to the ground from the moment she had opened her door. "Later." She, though, added as she grabbed her purse and headed out of her home.

Miles smirked and followed her, hoping they'd get back soon.

The party to celebrate thirty successful years of the Police Department's operation would take place in the Gatewater Hotel. Frankly, Franziska was impressed that the Chief of Police had made such a good choice. She was expecting something a lot less classy.

"Truth is," Miles said once the German prosecutor expressed her surprise, "that the Gatewater Hotel offers a discount to the Police Department since last year as thanks for their help in… in 'that' case." He continued and stole a glance at Franziska, expecting a violent reaction.

The woman's face twitched but she remained calm otherwise. "It all makes sense now. I highly doubt those fools would have chosen such a place had it not been for the discount."

Once they arrived, Miles parked his car and rushed to open Franziska's door.

"Miles Edgeworth, I don't remember ever telling you that I'm incapable of opening doors on my own." She glared at him and made a move to grab her whip. Sometimes, she had no idea what she was supposed to do with him. On one hand, she didn't like his overly gentlemanly behavior for she thought of it as stupid and unnecessary. On the other hand, she realized that she liked the feeling of someone taking care of her in a way no one else had before and, probably, no one ever would.

"I never said you are." He smiled and bowed, offering his hand to her.

Franziska sighed, understanding there was no way she could change Miles' ways and took his hand in her own. The older prosecutor locked his sports car and they moved towards the hotel's entrance.

Franziska threw a look to the red car and turned to Miles. "I do not consent in you moving around in such a car. It's extremely showy and all it's good for is being a woman magnet."

"Said the one who moves around in a limousine." Miles replied but never lost his smile. He and Franziska had started having these small petty arguments lately. They never led to fighting or shouting or them getting remotely close to being angry with each other. They reminded him of when they were children and argued like that all the time. Somehow, these memories had ended up being some of the most pleasant ones he had from his years as a kid.

"Yes but, a woman in a flashy car does not attract men. A man on the other hand…"

Miles snickered, finally understanding what her problem was. "Is there a reason you suddenly decided to feel jealous? We had none of that before."

Franziska punched him at the arm for daring to say she was jealous as they entered the hotel's ball room. However, as soon as they stepped in, Franziska grabbed Miles arm in a fierce, possessive way and urged him to walk faster.

"What's going on, Franziska?" asked Miles, trying to keep up with her pacing which was extremely fast for someone on high heels.

"Are you really that dim, Miles Edgeworth?" she spat from between clenched teeth. "Can you not see that more than half the women in here are staring at you in the same way a starving man would stare at a delicious loaf of bread?"

Edgeworth at first blinked in surprise before he burst into laughter and wrapped an arm around her waist lovingly. "Frankly, I couldn't care less about what other women might think of me. I never cared and I'm not going to now, especially since you're standing right here beside me."

"Still, it's annoying." She insisted but Miles words had apparently worked their magic and calmed her down.

"I know, Franziska, and I can tell you that the same number of men are currently drooling over you, making me feel tempted to deliver a punch at some stomachs but, as you can see, I'm staying as civilized as I can."

Their conversation was interrupted by an all too familiar voice. "Hey! Mister Edgeworth, Miss von Karma! I didn't think you'd come!"

The pair turned around to be greeted by detective Gumshoe, the one who had actually invited them to the party. Since it was the precinct who organized all that, prosecutors weren't invited. The members of the force, though, were free to invite as many friends as they wanted be it policemen, lawyers or pilots so, Miles and Franziska were asked to attend by the good detective.

"Mark my word, Scruffy, we wouldn't have thought twice to come here had the precinct not done its best to organize a decent party. We felt like rewarding the Chief by gracing you with our presence." Said Franziska in her usual cocky manner.

"I see that you haven't changed at all, sir." Gumshoe said, glancing at Miles' arm around her waist.

Edgeworth had to wonder why the detective would think their relationship would change her so much she would stop torturing the police officers. Sure, she had changed a bit but, only when she was around him. He had changed as well but, again, only when he was around her. After all, Dick Gumshoe was wrong to want to be treated differently. Franziska's constant whippings and insults to the detective and all of her subordinates were, actually, her way of showing her affection. A very absurd way but, it was the truth.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she raised an eyebrow and laid a hand on her belt, signifying the presence of her whip.

"Um… nothing, nothing." Said Gumshoe, looking even more disheartened than before. He, though, straightened the old, black coat he was wearing (apparently, his wardrobe was seriously lacking in terms of formal clothing because Gumshoe was merely wearing a black and white version of his usual attire) and spoke. "You can come sit at our table, if you want. The others are here too!"

Miles didn't know how to react to that statement. He shuddered at the thought of having to endure the wackiness of his friends for the entire night but, he also felt a strange warmth when he was with them. It was nice to feel loved even if that love came from the most obnoxious people. After all, he thanked whatever force had brought Franziska in his life, despite her being the most whip-happy person he had ever met. He wouldn't change her for the world.

At Gumshoe's and Maggey's table sat Wright and his two medium friends, in their usual happy-go-lucky mood. Phoenix was dressed in a tuxedo but the two girls, ever oblivious to the world's dressing habits, were wearing robes as always though these looked like formal ones with nice flower patterns. Lastly, Maggey was looking good in her pink dress.

The couple was greeted with smiles and loud voices as they took a seat and the group resumed their conversation, laughing at the top of their lungs, teasing each other and discussing about all and nothing.

Franziska and Miles mostly remained silent, popping in only every now and then to make a comment. They simply stood there, enjoying the feeling of being part of such a crazy group despite the fact they would never, ever admit to said group how much they appreciated their company and how strangely at home they felt with them.

Franziska's hand crept into Miles from below the table, and they laced their fingers smiling briefly at each other before looking away once more. The German prosecutor began examining the decoration of the room.

Truth is it was a bit too flashy even for someone like her what with all the gold and silver on the walls. However, she appreciated the fact that the overall design was well-thought out while the service was excellent. The ball room in particular, had the tables aligned in such a way that the dance floor was the center of attention without making the dancers feel uncomfortable from having too much eyes looking at them. Also, there was a live band playing music fitting for actual ballroom dancing instead of some obnoxiously loud speakers playing whatever ear-bleeding music could be heard at night clubs. She appreciated good music a lot since it could always calm her down and help her enjoy herself, no matter how horrible everything else might be.

Miles followed her gaze and had an idea. He stood up, her hand still in his and bowed his torso, placing a kiss at the back of her hand. "Shall we dance?"

The others' attention turned to the two of them, curiously.

Franziska felt a blush creeping at her cheeks. Why was she feeling shy all of a sudden? "It's been years since I last took lessons…" she tried to plead her case.

"Don't tell me you don't practice at weekends when you're all alone." Miles flashed a disarming smile and was amused to see her very faint blush now become apparent. He had guessed so because he too exercised his dancing skills during the lonely hours in his home.

"You two can dance?" Wright asked, clearly surprised. He had never expected them to have other interests aside from prosecuting.

"Of course." Franziska replied indignantly. "My Papa made sure we also exercised our bodies –they are part of being perfect after all- and since he considered the vast majority of sporting activities rather crude, he decided we should take on dancing lessons. For your information, we can dance every single ballroom dance out there." She then added proudly.

"We'd love to see you dance, then!" Maya chirped, clapping her hands excitedly.

Miles raised her eyebrows questioningly at Franziska and she finally gave in. He led her to the dance floor and they started dancing at the slow rhythm of the waltz that was currently playing.

"He was holding her hand all the time, Mister Nick!" Pearl happily informed the attorney as her eyes moved from Phoenix to Maya and back, as if she was insinuating they should do the same.

Phoenix decided to pretend he didn't get what the little girl meant by saying that was only normal since they were together. Only he was actually surprised they would publicly show some affection even in such a simple way. It appeared he didn't know the two of them as well as he had thought he did. He looked at the couple who was swirling elegantly among other pairs. They were good. There were plenty of others who seemed to have basic knowledge of the dance but the prosecutors' skill was really shining through. It was easy to tell that they had gone through years of practice compared to those dancing around them and, above all, they seemed to be enjoying themselves and each others close company.

The song ended and Miles and Franziska had already attracted the sights of some viewers. Then, the band started playing a tango tune and the pair adjusted their positions accordingly.

Franziska thoroughly relished this experienced and she hadn't expected to like it so much. Yes, she had danced with Miles before but, that was when they were kids and weren't as good at it as they were now. Moreover, she could now appreciate his gentle but confident movements and how they cooperated perfectly and succeeded in executing even the most complex evolutions and how he was strong enough to lift her effortlessly.

But most of all, she appreciated how she saw this dance as a means to enjoy herself when, during her childhood, the stress of performing perfectly prevented her from letting herself go. Now, she found out she could block everyone else outside and merely lose herself in Miles' grey eyes, his intoxicating aroma and the way their bodies moved together. She realized she was smiling and he was smiling too.

Soon, smiling turned to laughing as he swirled her around and then pulled her to himself, their bodies colliding forcefully as she leaned on his chest with her back and he wrapped his arms around her, the two of them moving like that for a moment before Franziska turned to face him once more. This dance was something between playing and loving to them.

As the song came to an end, Franziska was leaning back with one leg curled around Miles', his left arm preventing her from falling on the ground and his right slowly tracing her thigh. Pretty much all of the attendants burst into applause but, the prosecutors couldn't care less about it at the moment. They were both panting heavily and their hearts were racing and it wasn't just from exhaustion.

Their faces were inches away and they could feel each others' breath wash over them. Miles felt the strong urge to kiss these luscious lips which stood so close to his but, he wasn't sure Franziska would want him to in front of so many people. They still weren't fully comfortable with big crowds.

However, said lips curled in a mischievous smirk and they approached his ear. "Shall we go somewhere less noisy?" she inquired in a deep voice that made something inside Miles growl contentedly. The passionate dancing had worked its magic and now they both felt the need to withdraw themselves even for a bit.

"We shall." He took her by the hand and they managed to sneak away unnoticed.

"Miss von Karma and Mister Edgeworth are good, aren't they?" Maggey commented.

"Yeah, that was one fierce tango." Gumshoe said and grinned.

"Surprisingly so." Nick added. "But, where are they, now? I kind of lost them when they finished dancing and they seem to have disappeared all of a sudden."

Nobody had an answer to that so Phoenix stood up in order to find them. You don't just stun everyone with your dancing skills and then leave. Of course, they could have as well left to use the facilities but it had already been a few minutes since he had last seen them so he doubted it. Normally, he would just let them be but, he was worried his friends might have a problem or something. They would always say goodbye when it was time for them to leave, no matter what might have happened.

The attorney failed to locate them anywhere inside the room and was starting to wonder where they could have gone to when it dawned on him just where they might be. He moved to the corridor that led out of the room and saw them, feeling a sweat drop trickle down his head as his lips formed an understanding but slightly exasperated grin.

The two prosecutors were all over each other, as Miles had cornered Franziska at the wall with his arms lying on the wall beside her head as if he wanted to prevent her from escaping. With their bodies tightly pressed and Franziska's hands running through Edgeworth's hair forcefully, it appeared they were engaged in a rather passionate kiss.

Wright looked at them and had to admit they were good for each other. They seemed fully happy together and, if that kiss was enough evidence, they had strong feelings towards their partner. He also considered it a good sign they had opened up a bit since they had become a couple. Their personalities appeared to match and Phoenix couldn't help but think they would make an excellent prosecuting team. Of course, his next reaction was to gulp. Oh, he would never want to face these two together.

Wright decided it was time for him to leave them alone when Miles moved from ravaging Franziska's lips to licking and biting her neck, jawline and ears. Thankfully, Franziska was enjoying this so much she kept her eyes closed as she threw her head backward. If she had spotted Nick, the attorney wouldn't have lived to tell the tale of this small make out.

With a devious smirk, Wright turned around and left, thinking of ways he and his friends would tease the two prosecutors once they were done.

* * *

Franziska used her key to get into Miles' house. It had been a few weeks since they had exchanged keys and there had been frequent visits after that. Of course, they didn't like going to each other's home uninvited but they at least knew that, if they needed something from their lover, they could freely go find them.

As the woman walked in the living room, she found Miles playing with Pess, his golden retriever. The hyper active dog had pushed his owner to the floor and was now assaulting his face with licks.

Franziska couldn't help but smile as she watched the scene, enjoying the sound of Miles' laughter. His dog always made the solemn prosecutor act like a little child something Franziska found endearing.

Once the dog noticed her presence, he barked happily wagging his tail furiously and moved away from Miles only to come and jump around her, threatening to throw her down as well.

Franziska chuckled as she tried to avoid the furry menace. In the meantime, Miles had stood up with a smile, and he kindly chastised his pet. "Pess, stop trying to pounce Franziska. I'm the one who's supposed to do that."

And he immediately made his words come true as he embraced her with such force, they both tumbled to the ground, laughing in merriment. They started rolling from left to right, wrestling playfully with each other and trying to be the first to place a kiss on their partner.

At the end, Miles was the one to pin Franziska down after quite a fierce battle which had left them out of breath. He nudged his face on hers but he didn't kiss her immediately as he wanted to do. Instead, he caressed her face with his hand, and looked deep into her eyes. Their relationship was moving along greatly and he had found himself wanting more and more. He realized that, even though he passed the biggest part of the day with her, he wished to have her with him all the day. No, all the week or all the month. Heck, all his life was more appropriate but he wasn't sure he should say that to her right now. He wasn't confident enough yet.

He was sure he would be able to let her know soon, though, because he had realized just how much she meant to him. Ever since she had waltzed in his life, she had been affecting him in all kinds of ways. With her, he felt truly happy and it seemed to him that when she was around, it was as if he was given the chance to relive the childhood he was denied; so light-hearted and carefree she made him feel. He really hoped with all his heart she felt the same for him and he wanted to slowly find out whether she did or not.

"Franny…" he started and Franziska stared at him incredulous, blinking in surprised. They only called each other with a nickname very, very rarely; as rarely as they used affectionate pet names for one another. As such they knew that, once one of them used the other's nickname, they wanted to say something serious. Miles took her hand and squeezed it, entwining their fingers. "Would you like to come live with me?"

Franziska smile softly. "Yes." She replied and they kissed tenderly.

Pess approached them and whined, disappointed that the two humans had completely forgotten about him. Franziska and Miles broke the kiss in order to laugh and pet the dog, as if to assure him they weren't ignoring him. Their eyes quickly met again, though, and they smiled. At last, it seemed like their troubles would come to an end and their lives were taking a turn for the better. It was as if that night in the von Karma mansion had made the pieces fall into place. Perfectly into place.


End file.
